Walking the Wire
by MadAsAMage
Summary: He had always been determined, stubborn, never giving up. On the brink of insanity, what's a guy supposed to do? Go down without a fight? Let the Darkness consume him? Give her up? No, Cole didn't think so. It wasn't in his nature. Time travel AU.
1. Chapter 1

AN:Well, wow, how long has it been since I first watched Charmed as a kid? Re-watching the TV show as an adult brings back fond memories of times when it was ok to believe in magic... and skipping a few afternoon classes was not as bad as not showing up for work. One thing is the same, though; what happened to Phoebe and Cole still breaks my heart. So here we are.

Disclaimer: Nothing's mine.

-.-.-.

"That backfired quite spectacularly," he groaned, fading into his living room. He was soaked in salty water, eyes red-rimmed and lungs still burning from the lack of oxygen. Yes, he had felt the need to breathe, but it had only hurt like hell. Pissing off underwater demons hadn't worked either and now the whole shoreline was littered by dead fish.

That god-awful tinkling reverberated by the window and Cole pressed the heels of his palms against his eyes, wishing he could poke them out so he didn't have to look at his ex-sister-in-law.

"I guess that you dripping saltwater all over your expensive furniture is answer enough," Paige said, disgust evident in her voice. "I get that you hate us and that making our lives difficult is your favorite pastime… but poor innocent fish? What the hell?"

"Either come up with a way to kill me – or Phoebe to listen to me – or stop orbing inside of my damned apartment." He didn't bother to look up. Paige didn't like him, which wasn't surprising, but she was the one who usually ended up to talk to him to the annoyance of them both. Phoebe had refused to even look at him and Piper… well. Even people married to angels had limits of their patience and understanding.

"You know, trying to blackmail my sister back into a relationship only makes her hate you more-"

"Aaargh!" Cole jumped up and threw an energy ball into the wall next to her. "I don't blackmail her into anything! Are you trying to annoy me to death?"

"It's not like I enjoy talking to crazy demonic morons!"

"So orb the fuck away!"

"Seeing that you are unfortunately alive and still too nuts to talk to, I'll just do that!" Paige orbed out of the apartment the moment the last syllable left her mouth.

Cole flopped back down and closed his eyes, breathing heavily. There really wasn't any point in trying to talk to any of them, was there? They always ended shouting at each other. For the Halliwells, he was just crazy, dangerous and evil. A part of him could hardly blame them. He had almost destroyed their family, lied to them and hurt his wife too many times.

But what was he supposed to do?

Cole took in a shuddering breath as his heart seized painfully. He couldn't let Phoebe go. He didn't know how to exist without her. Before he had met her, he had been a soldier of fortune. It hadn't mattered if he died or lived and how he led his life. She had changed everything, opened his eyes, and showed him there could be more… that _he_ could be more than a messenger of terror and instrument of destruction.

It was an illusion, though. The Charmed ones should kill him. He hoped they would find a way soon. Cole couldn't go back to that loveless dark existence, he didn't want to, but he had no idea how to be anything other than what he had always been. _Evil_. They were right; he was a danger to them, to everyone. Not worthy of forgiveness, or love, or redemption…

Something stung in his eyes and he tried to keep breathing without choking.

"… guess it wasn't nice to shout at you when you were clearly… Oh God, you're crying?!"

Paige was back?

"What are you doing here, again?" he growled and wiped his eyes, standing to face her. Bouts of depression and despair were hardly anything new for him but this was the first time someone else had seen him vulnerable. "Should I fry you this time?"

Paige was motionless, just gaping at him. Cole wondered if he really looked that awful – unshaven, in wet clothes smelling of fish, wild hair and swollen eyes. Pathetic.

"No?"

"Yeah, okay, I won't if you get out – _now_."

"Did you know I was coming back? Did you fake that?"

"Oh, sure, I wanted one of the most annoying persons in the universe to see me crying like a lost little boy! If you ever mention it to anyone, I swear I'll turn you into a pile of twinkling blue dust."

She still stared at him and it made Cole uncomfortable. He shifted his weight when she didn't react to the threat. "Was there a reason you came back?"

"Ugh, yeah…" Paige moved cautiously closer to the nearest armchair and sat down slowly. "Look, Cole, this situation is hard on all of us."

"Is this the moment when you try to talk me into leaving you all alone? You know I can't do that."

"Why?" she asked. Paige looked genuinely curious about his answer, watching him with something resembling understanding and pity in her eyes. He hated that. She couldn't possibly understand what went through his mind. Even he didn't know that most of the time.

"I just can't," he said, falling backward on the couch.

"Ok, we all noticed that you don't want to move on…"

"I don't know how! You don't get it, do you? When a demon is vanquished, he stops existing – but I remain, the fucked up half-demon and half-human who is neither. When I was stuck in the Wastelands, I clawed my way back here because of your sister, our love. She is the reason I'm alive. And she doesn't want me and I can't die… and it's all just so fucked up… Why wouldn't she just give me a chance to…"

"You've just said it yourself."

Cole took a deep breath and tried to flatten his hair. Had he truly started ranting in front of the Whitelighter spawn? And she was not sneering at him? It looked like it. "What?"

"It's pretty obvious that your moral compass is screwed and you just can't differentiate between what's right and wrong; kind of hard to do with only a half a soul and tons of demon essences burning through your blood."

"So help me become human!"

"Hell no! A human involved with a witch? We'd bury you within a week," Paige shook her head. "You know, I don't like you. You put us through hell several times. But I can concede that you at least love Phoebe and will do anything for her, right?"

"Right," he answered slowly.

"So you need to accept that she doesn't want you near her."

"I can't do that."

"Do you want to hurt my sister?" she asked him gravely.

"Of course not," he scoffed. Was that a serious question? He might have tried to turn her evil but that hardly had worked. The reason why he had loved his wife so much was her inherent goodness. He had been drawn to that in the first place and now, the idea of snuffing that light out of her was painful.

"Then leave her alone," she pleaded and Cole found himself looking away from her tearful expression. "Stop this! You are hurting her with every stupid stunt you pull. She loved you and seeing you like this, doing these crazy things… it tears my sister apart."

"Help me find a way to die, then," he countered, jaw clenched, hands fisted. It's one of the two – either a chance to be close to Phoebe again or end to his suffering.

"I can't do that, either – we would bury Phoebe shortly after you." Her voice caught and when he glanced back at her, Paige was wiping away her own tears. " My sister has accepted it. Sometimes love is just not enough. Even if we all somehow could forgive… we'll never forget, never trust you. Do you honestly want to subject Phoebe to that kind of life, where she always doubts you?"

He shook his head and hid his face behind his hands. "No. I want her to look at me like she used to before it all went to hell. That's what I want."

"That's not ever going to happen. There's just too much that has gone wrong between the two of you."

"Yeah, maybe you're right." He refused to lower his hands, his voice rough. "You probably are. I… well. Don't worry about me. I won't put her through the pain of vanquishing me again, and I won't try to interfere with your lives anymore. You win, Paige."

"This is hardly a victory," she said in disbelief. "But do you mean it? You are leaving us in peace? Just like that?"

"Just like that. Don't let me keep you from sharing the happy news with your family." He stood and offered Paige his hand to shook. "Tell your Phoebe that I'll always love her."

Those words, a distant echo of another farewell, seemed to convince Paige that he was meaning it.

"There's nothing happy about this, Cole," Paige murmured as she too got up to her feet. "So, is this really it? Don't you want to say goodbye in person?"

"That's a bad idea," he said, trying to grin without much success. His face felt like a mask – one wrong grimace and it would shatter into pieces. "Good luck with demons and try to stay alive for Phoebe's sake. I won't be around to find another of you Halliwells if something happens to you."

"Demons won't know what hit them." She clasped his hand in her and gave it a firm shake. "For what it's worth, I think you may have been a really cool brother-in-law, eventually. Be safe and … live well, ok?"

Cole watched her orb away, breathing deeply when the tingling sound faded. He had always been determined, stubborn, never giving up. So that's it? The end of his marriage, his very existence? Is he supposed to just let it all go? Go down without a fight? Let the Darkness consume him? Give Phoebe up? No, Cole didn't think so.

Paige had been right, though. There had been too much between him and Phoebe to overcome. All those lies, secrets, hurts and betrayals had torn them apart. The fault was his, isn't it always, and Cole needed to face his past mistakes.

Or better yet, make sure that all those things never come to pass.

-.-.-

AN:Hope you enjoyed the story and don't be shy to leave comments. Also, are you guys interested in more? And... English is my second language, so forgive any mistakes. Thanks for reading :)


	2. Chapter 2

It all looked like another post-demon attack evening for the Halliwell family. After the sleazy green creature had been dealt with, Piper had returned back to the club, grumbling under her breath that she was the one ending up doing all the work… and Prue had called it a night, complaining about how much trouble it would be getting that demon goo out of her hair.

Phoebe was sporting minor bruises on her knuckles – she really should know better than to try breaking a demon's jaw by now – and hummed distractedly, thinking about tall and good-looking lawyers as she mixed a healing balm on the stove. She was quite happy with the results of her healing experiment as she inhaled the smell of the balm and wondered what to do with her friend who happened to be male. The way he had been acting disqualified him from the _boyfriend_ category and that annoyed her to no end. It was like Cole could not quite decide if they were dating or not.

She knew she was rooting for the dating option but hadn't seen him or heard from him in ages. Would it look too clingy or desperate if she called him? Again?

The phone rang, distracting her from her unpleasant musings, and she picked it up. Speak of the devil...

"This is Cole Turner, Assistant District Attorney. I need to speak with Miss Phoebe Halliwell. Is she around?"

Phoebe hated how her heart fluttered when she heard his voice. Handsome or not, he had no right doing that to her. She was trying to be annoyed with him for not calling sooner. "Is it a serious business, Mr. Turner?"

"Most dire circumstances," he replied with what she thought was a smile in his voice. She could imagine it. Cole had such a nice smile.

"Oh. I'm listening, then."

"You see, Miss Halliwell, I haven't heard from you for quite some time..." he said sternly. Phoebe took the balm off the stove to cool and leaned against the counter. She liked his business-like voice and couldn't stop herself from smiling.

"Is that so?"

"That is so..."

She was preparing her reply when Leo and Piper orbed in. Judging by the expression on his face, something big had happened. He signaled her to cut the call short and moved out of the kitchen, presumably to get Prue. Perfect timing, as always.

 _'_ _What's going on?'_ she mouthed to her sister but Piper just shrugged ' _I have no idea.'_

"… Phoebe?"

"Oh? Oh, sorry! Something's come up, Cole." She heard Prue and Leo going down the stairs. "I'm so sorry but I need to go. Can I call you back later?"

There was a brief silence and she bit her lip. Cole was calling her, after what felt like an eternity of him ignoring her, and she had only this lame excuse of _something's come up_. It was no wonder that none of them could keep a boyfriend who wasn't a part of the supernatural world.

"Yeah, no problem. Call anytime you want. I happen to like the sound of your voice, you know, and I've missed it."

"Sure, I'll call as soon as it's done. Bye!" she put down the phone and turned to face her sisters and their Whitelighter. "Why am I not flirting with Cole right now and have to listen to whatever it is I have to listen to?"

"Something has happened," said Leo simply.

"Something always seems to. What is it this time?" Prue was annoyed, her hair still wet. "This better be urgent, I was getting ready for my date with sleep."

"Well, I wouldn't dream of interrupting your rest, and your flirting, and your work," Leo sighed. "The Elders have sensed a great disturbance in the fabric of reality. It looks like something big, dangerous and extremely powerful has arrived half an hour ago to this time and space."

"This time and space?" repeated Phoebe. "As in...?"

"As in jumping from one reality to another." Leo grimaced. "It's confusing with many factors to consider, but in short: whenever you go back or forward in time and manage to impact your surroundings in a way that wouldn't have been otherwise possible, you split the reality. I suppose that's what our Visitor has done."

"So, somewhere out there is a reality where this Jumper hasn't jumped in time and we live our lives without this newest catastrophe, am I right?" Phoebe mused. In that reality, she was probably happily flirting with Cole and planning another one of those 'wanna get coffee at my place?' dates where no coffee was actually involved.

"Yes."

"Life is not fair," she whined. She would really, really like to have that coffee.

"Let's focus on that Jumper, okay?" Prue decided. "I guess nobody knows why he came and what he is, right? Are we supposed to track him down and find out?"

"Can we really say that the Jumper is a he? What if it's a she?" mused Piper.

"Whatever it is, it interferes with my love life. Let's send it back where it came from," Phoebe grumbled.

"The Elders want you to be extremely careful when dealing with this situation and not to rush into anything. They haven't felt anything like this in a long time. They believe that the Visitor might be one of the most powerful beings to walk the Earth."

The sisters looked at each other and then back at Leo.

"Sure, super careful info gathering, got it."

"Aren't we supposed to, you know, deal with it?"

"I'm not going to sit on my hands and do nothing!"

"It is probable that the situation will sooner or later need you to act," he agreed. "However, we don't know if the Jumper is here to cause any trouble…"

The girls gave him a look as if he had lost his mind. Throwing his hands up, he said, "Oh, maybe, fine! But we should deal first with the threat the Triad poses."

"Could the Jumper be in league with them?"

"Or with Belthazor?"

"Maybe the Triad summoned the Jumper to help them?"

"Girls, girls! Let's not get ahead of ourselves. Belthazor first, the Triad second, the Visitor last."

"Oh, great." Phoebe took the healing balm and applied it to her bruised knuckles. "So, what are we going to do with him? Her? It?"

"Nothing, yet. Just be on your guard."

"The Elders don't want us to actively search for the Jumper?" Prue's voice held a note of disbelief. "Why the hell even tell us about it?"

"They want you to be careful and monitor anything unusual while others search for clues."

"Why not us?" asked Piper.

Leo looked a little pained as he ran a hand through his hair. Phoebe could relate. Being under questioning from her sisters was never a pleasant experience.

"The Power of Three is too valuable to risk for only information gathering. If the Visitor proves to be a threat, you three are the biggest gun the Light side can possibly use without burning the whole world down..."

"Ah, the Elders care. How sweet." Prue grinned and Phoebe knew without any doubt that her oldest sister was not going to sit and wait. Hell, Phoebe was not content to just do nothing when something of such a power entered their dimension.

 _'_ _I happen to like the sound of your voice, you know, and I've missed it?'_ Seriously? What was wrong with him? That sounded just so… so… Cole sighed and put down the phone. He had hoped for a longer chat with his wife… Ex-wife… Soon to be his wife again, hopefully. Cole hardly remembered the last time Phoebe was willing to talk to him at all, let alone in a civil manner, and hearing the teasing in her voice brought back sweet memories of the first few months of their relationship.

He smiled as he poured himself a well-deserved glass of whiskey; after the last few hours of time traveling, he deserved a break and a chat with his lovelier half. It seemed he was going to experience those wonderful times again. Phoebe hadn't lived through them, yet, and Cole was ready to cherish every single second of their relationship. Even a hundred live times with her was not enough. And this time around, he would not let anything interfere with their relationship. Not the Triad, not the Source, not the bloody Elders.

"How the hell did you get in?"

Not even his stupid younger self.

Belthazor was standing in the doorway, wearing their human face, and Cole slowly lifted the glass to his lips and smirked. "I'm enjoying my life."

"My, my, I do look quite handsome, don't I?" mused the demon as he slowly stalked inside the room. "But I don't appreciate you wearing my face. You have a second to get lost before I burn you to a crisp."

Cole wondered for a moment if the human half of him loved Phoebe at this point in his life already. He couldn't remember the exact moment – perhaps it had been the very first sight. However, it didn't matter. His younger self was in his way and there couldn't possibly be two of them running around, making life confusing. All things considered, it would be best to bury Belthazor once and for all so that Phoebe would not need to meet him.

"Ah, such a cocky young man," he chuckled and slowly stood up.

"Well, I see someone has already tried their best on that burning to the crisp thing," replied Belthazor.

Cole admitted that he looked slightly _singed_. Any injury he had sustained through his most uncomfortable journey through time – he had had to claw and tear and crawl through the fabric of reality – had already healed, though. He had literally crashed to into this world in a whirlwind of flames.

"Let's make a deal, Mr. Turner. You kill me and you can continue with your life as if nothing happened. I kill you, and your life is mine. What do you say?" Cole grinned. "I'll make it one worth living. Marry the witch, keep her safe and out of harm's way…"

Ah, his younger self already loved Phoebe, then.

The moment Cole mentioned her, Belthazor threw several energy balls at him rapidly. Apart from unpleasant stinging, it did nothing.

"Ouch, that tickled."

Before Cole could return fire, his younger self shimmered out of the apartment, choosing tactical withdrawal. He knew what Belthazor would do. He would check on Phoebe first and then go to the mausoleum to plot. That's where he would finish him off.

But first things first. He had always reacted badly when cornered, never thinking things through. That's why he had found himself traveling through time, after all.

Cole rolled his shoulders and faded out of the apartment with a clear destination in mind. He couldn't risk his panicked younger self talking to their wife.

AN: Hope this doesn't disappoint... And thank you for you comments, guys. It so good so see someone else loves this pairing, too :)


	3. Chapter 3

Phoebe stopped wiping the counter and frowned. There was just something at the edge of her consciousness she couldn't shake. A whiff of a familiar scent, mixed with a tinge of... Smoke?

Chuckling to herself, she switched off the light in the kitchen, heading upstairs, but sudden insistent knocking made her change directions.

 _Who would come here after half past 11?_ Cautiously moving to the front door, she called out, "Yeah, who's there?"

There was a thud against the door, a dull clunk followed by another loud crash as something hit the ground. That didn't sound good, not at all.

"Phoebe, it's me!" someone cried out almost in pain. Her heart stopped for a moment as she recognized the voice. Forgetting caution, she threw the door open hurriedly.

"Cole? Oh my God! What happened?"

He was there, kneeling with his hands braced against the ground, peering at her with reddened eyes. What was most shocking, though, were his clothes and appearance. She had never seen him looking so scruffy.

"Phoebe!" Cole gulped and gingerly stood up, giving her an awkward smile. "Uh... sorry to... heh... you look beautiful."

That was a familiar tactic – change the topic any time something he didn't want to deal with came up – but there was something else. Cole looked _awestruck_. Apart from looking horrible.

"Thank you? I suppose. What are you doing here? What happened to you?" Without thinking too much about it, she stepped closer to him and touched his face. There was several days' worth of stubble on his cheeks and his breath smelled faintly of whiskey, but he was sober. She couldn't tear her gaze away from the expression in his eyes.

Phoebe could hardly find words to describe the myriads of emotions in them ranging from longing, hope, and wonder to despair, pain, heartbreak. It made him look older, changed. As if in the week she hadn't seen him he had aged several years.

"Are you alright?" she whispered, her hands gently sliding down from his face to skim over his shoulders and arms to finally rest on his chest. Cole appeared unharmed. His heart was beating quickly, though, a wild staccato against her palm.

"Never been better," he replied and heaved a shuddering sigh, slumping slightly as he lowered his forehead against hers. "I'm going to put my arms around you, now. Is that ok?"

"Why do you ask that? Of course, silly!" To demonstrate her point, she hugged him around the waist, closing her eyes. The last few days of no contact were quickly forgotten. She believed that there were a great number of things she would gladly forget if she could find herself in his arms at the end of the day. It was surprising to realize that she was unable to stay annoyed.

"Well," he huffed and squeezed her tightly. To her utter bewilderment, he forced out the next words in a choked whisper, as if he was on the verge of tears. "I smell."

"A bit. Will you tell me what has happened?" The realization wasn't like a lightning, or a clap of thunder, or anything spectacularly shocking. It was a quiet acceptance of something her heart had already known.

"Heh, that's a long story..."

Phoebe didn't like the way his arms tightened, and how rough his voice sounded. The chuckle he forced out sent shivers down her spine – there was no humor in it, only wry bitterness. ' _Something terrible has happened_ ,' she was certain.

"Please, baby? You can tell me anything," she tried to move away but Cole didn't release her – instead he buried his face in her hair and shook his head.

"Just a little bit more. I missed you so much."

"It's been only a week, Cole."

"Felt like an eternity since I held you close," he mumbled, took one last deep breath and then released her, stepping slightly away. "I'm sorry."

"What are you apologizing for?"

"That you had to see me like this." Sheepishly, he looked down at himself and Phoebe followed his gaze. He really didn't look good – like he had been stuck in a volcano for the whole week they hadn't seen each other.

"You were in trouble," she said softly. "That's why you didn't call sooner?"

Cole blinked and then nodded. "Yeah. Well. I wanted to see you and it couldn't be helped, really…"

Phoebe was ready to try and ask him what was going on. There was just something that screamed danger – and not the mortal kind – in his behavior that she was half tempted to wake up the rest of the house again. Was it a curse? She wouldn't be surprised, Cole looked like he had been in hell and back.

"Lunch date tomorrow?" Cole asked suddenly and gave her a grin. Now was her turn to blink at the sudden change in him, how quickly he put himself together. The smile he gave her now was very handsome, not that broken thing from earlier, and his eyes shone brightly.

"How about dinner?" she asked. Dinner sounded good. After dinner, people didn't have to go back to work and he wouldn't have a convenient excuse to disappear without talking about what the problem was. Phoebe was determined to find out what was wrong with him – and soon.

"Dinner? Yeah, yeah, that would be lovely. I'll pick you up. Seven?"

She agreed and Cole bent to peck her on the forehead, his smile turning tender and sweet. Phoebe tilted her head and gave him a kiss on the lips. Too swift and chaste for her taste but seeing yet again the totally amazed expression she got in return, she doubted Cole would survive a proper kiss without brain damage.

"Heh," he breathed, his hands sliding down to clasp hers. "I really missed you, Phoebe. See you tomorrow."

Giving her another very handsome, slightly dazed smile, Cole kissed her hand and turned, jogging down the steps and disappearing in the dark quickly.

"Cole, wait!" she called, horrified. On his back was a burnt-out hole that was awfully familiar – either from a fire or energy ball. There was also the matter of a wedding band she had felt on his ring finger as he had squeezed her hands.

"Wait, Cole!" She ran after him, jumping down the steps. The street was empty.

Wrapping her arms around herself, Phoebe had a bad feeling about this. ' _Was it even Cole?_ '

-.-.-

Cole was still grinning to himself as he faded out of the street in front of Phoebe's house and reappeared in the local cemetery. He hadn't actually planned to speak to her looking like he did. He had just wanted to observe her for a moment or two as she had cleaned up the kitchen and watch out for Belthazor. Then the demon had come knocking and after a quick scuffle with his younger self at the door to the Halliwell manor, Cole hardly had a choice.

Belthazor had been a bit quicker and had shimmered out of his grasp just a moment before Phoebe had opened the door, leaving him to smooth things over.

It had been a close call.

"What the hell were you thinking, banging on her door like that? What if she saw us?" he asked his younger self as he strode into the mausoleum. "Are you trying to make her suspect us? Because let me tell you, that would make it very awkward for me in the long run."

"You won't touch her!" roared the demon – red and black face – as an energy ball slammed into Cole. He stumbled back, disbelief clearly written over his face.

"That was one hell of a shot!" he complimented and returned the favor. Belthazor shimmered out the way. He reappeared behind him, burying an athame in Cole's back.

"I won't let you touch her, do you hear me? Whoever you are, this ends now."

Cole grimaced in pain as he took several steps away from his younger self. "Oh, man, that's my kidney! Oh, damn! It hurts!"

He tried to reach the handle of the weapon, shaking his head, watching the demon from the corner of his eye. Belthazor didn't waste any time and sent several energy balls his way quickly. All hit their mark and Cole sank to his knees, flames erupting around him.

"Ah, well," he sighed, finally wrapping his fingers around the handle. In one smooth motion, he threw the athame at his younger self, hitting him in the chest. The demon slumped. As the flames surrounding Cole faded, he shrugged off the remains of his jacket and stalked towards him.

"Are you here on the Triad's orders?" he wheezed, morphing into his human form. Cole felt a stab of guilt at seeing his own face looking up at him with that particular expression.

"Hell, no!" he chuckled. "I'm no one's pawn, not anymore."

"Who are you? Why are you doing this?" He flung the dagger away, pressing his palm against the wound.

Cole lifted his hand, showing the wedding band around his finger. The gold gleamed in the semidarkness momentarily. "You were going to screw the only one good thing in our lives, buddy. Two years from now, the woman we would gladly die for can't stand to look at your face. I'm here to fix that."

"You are… _me_?" repeated the demon slowly, disbelievingly. "That's impossible."

"Is it? Haven't you tried just recently to wipe off the Halliwell line from existence?"

His younger self remained silent, contemplating, his shirt soaked in red. Cole had pierced a lung, he guessed, and they both knew it. That's why Belthazor hadn't shimmered away – he was dying. The human hospital was out of the question and dark priests couldn't heal his human half. Cole never really realized how weak he had been before he had accumulated his powers. ' _How the hell have I managed to live for a hundred years?_ '

"So, she said yes and then it all went to hell, huh? That's just so…"

"Typical," they said both in unison and grinned. Some things never changed.

"But don't worry, I won't repeat the same mistakes."

"I'm not thrilled by this; why not just warn me and get lost? Why do you want to replace me?" he asked, struggling to breathe.

' _Why indeed?_ ' Cole shrugged. "I'm selfish."

His younger self chuckled and coughed. "Yeah, that's true. Can you protect her and her sisters? She loves them. I can't imagine how she would take their deaths."

"Badly," Cole said, grimacing. "But that's not going to happen when I'm around. No one is going to hurt her, or the family. _Our_ family. I'll make sure of it…"

His words were genuine, the truth in them undeniable. Phoebe was his only family now, and she loved her sisters. Even though he had never seen eye to eye with Prue and Paige was the most annoying person he had ever met, they were his family by marriage and if he would manage not to piss the Halliwells off this time around... perhaps their interactions could be even friendly.

"Hey, hey, it's getting dark and cold, isn't it?" he noticed that his younger self was not faring well. "Come on, give me your hand. I'll make it quicker, painless. You'll become a part of me."

He grabbed the bloodstained hand and closed his eyes. He felt it, his old powers dimly in the body of his younger self, and he called to them. As Belthazor was quickly slipping away, he absorbed his essence and it settled in him comfortably. Along with it, though, something else glided into him and Cole opened his eyes, gasping softly as he felt it make itself at home.

His younger self's soul merged with his own – and it hurt and burnt and soothed all at the same time. Before, he had always been only half of a human with half of a soul. Now, though, he could feel it. Two halves made one whole.

It brought tears to his eyes because it made him heavier and lighter, stronger and more vulnerable. The power of this new thing inside of him pushed at the darkness of the numerous demon essences he had collected and silenced their seductive whispers.

Cole smeared the blood of his younger self across his face as he started to laugh loudly. He could feel the difference – the oppressive weight in his mind was gone, and his head started to clear. He felt balanced. He had broken the chains which had bound him before. Now, he had a choice because he had the strength to really choose good or evil. There was no predestined path for him, only the one he would forge for himself.

He was finally free.

-.-.-

Krum, thank you for your comment : )

arwenishtar, I hope you will forgive me killing off the younger version. It was necessary for the story though – Cole can now actually start fixing things instead of destroying everything he loves, the poor dear.

Hope you had fun and stay tuned ;)


	4. Chapter 4

Phoebe stumbled into the kitchen with bleary eyes, still half asleep, and blindly reached for the coffee pot. She had had several nightmares, two of which had been of having a premonition about Cole's death and one of him handing her and her sisters to the Triad.

"Good morning, slept well?" chirped Piper. When she glanced at her sister, though, she rephrased her question, "Rough night?"

"Cole dropped by yesterday," mumbled Phoebe and slumped into the nearest chair, nursing her coffee like a lifeline. Was it possible? What if one of the nightmares really had been a premonition?

"Oh." Piper glanced toward the door. "And is he shy or something? Or are you doing the breakfast in bed thing?"

"What? No! He didn't stay the night!" Phoebe sipped the warm liquid, trying to wake up. She hadn't slept at all, tossing and turning between the dreams and replaying her meeting with Cole over and over again in her head as she stared at the ceiling. "He was acting… strange."

" _'_ _I'm going to dump you'_ strange?" asked Piper with sympathy and Phoebe wondered if she had been that obvious in her worries about the relationship. "Should we go and throw horse muck at his fancy car?"

"More like _'something horrible I can't talk about happened'_ kind of strange," she glanced at her sister. "I think it was something closer to our, ahem, specialization."

"Really? What do you mean?" Piper slid into a seat next to her with her own coffee.

"He had damned burn marks from an energy ball on his back and I had this dream..."

"Who had burn marks from an energy ball on his back?" asked Prue as she made her way into the kitchen stealing Phoebe's cup of coffee, taking a quick sip. When neither answered, she offered it back with a questioning look. "Girls? What's going on?"

"I think Cole is in trouble, the supernatural demon kind of trouble; perhaps a curse or something. He wasn't himself."

"And his back had the burn marks?" clarified Prue in a businesslike voice.

"And his back had the burn marks," nodded Phoebe miserably, thinking back to her nightmares. "I'm worried about him. He didn't keep in touch for a whole week and then this. What if Belthazor has done something to him to get to us? What if the guy yesterday wasn't even Cole and Cole is dead and I kissed a yucky demon poorly pretending to be Cole?"

"That actually doesn't sound farfetched," nodded the eldest Halliwell thoughtfully.

"What? Let's not panic just yet, ok?" Piper gave her elder sister a look. "Maybe he was just overworked, or…"

"As a human, Cole is defenseless against any magical attack. I'm not going into telling you how dangerous it is to get involved with a DA just yet but seeing how close you two have become, Belthazar would be stupid not to use him. I wonder what took him so long to figure that out?"

"Prue!"

"What? Oh! Phoebe?"

Phoebe had paled as she stared at her sisters, the realization washing over her. The first nightmare had not been a nightmare. It had truly been a premonition. Belthazor. Athame. Energy balls and Cole sinking to his knees. With shaking hands, she gripped her cup of coffee tighter.

"What is it, honey?" Piper gently asked, leaning closer and hugging her.

"I think he's dead. Cole is dead," Phoebe whispered. The trembling got worse. They had known each other only for a short time but she had felt something unique in his presence. Her heart ached at the thought of Cole being gone. They had a special bond. She had realized it just yesterday, didn't want to name it even now, but Phoebe knew what she felt for him.

"Not even a minute ago you thought he was a demon sent by the Triad," said Prue slowly.

"You said that! I said that his behavior was strange!" cried Phoebe, a little hoarsely. With a hysterical edge to her voice, she continued, "I thought it was just a dream but I saw Belthazor killing him and Cole burning in flames. Like demons do. Whatever has happened to him, whatever scheme Belthazor has come up with, Cole must have thwarted it... and he paid the price..."

"Oh, Phoebe!" Prue came to her other side, embracing her, too. "If it was a premonition, then we have time to change it and save him. You'll have your sneaky lawyer back in one piece."

"He's not sneaky!" Phoebe's voice was shaking but she tried to smile. They were right, of course. Her premonitions came to her usually so she could change the events. "I… I can't imagine not saving him."

The very idea just hurt too much.

Piper and Prue exchanged a meaningful look.

"You really like him, don't you?" asked the eldest sister with a slight frown. "Of all possible people, it has to be this guy."

"I think I do. I really, really like him… unlike you, it seems."

"It's wonderful, honey," said Piper gently and glared at Prue when she snorted. "It is!"

"I suppose it could have been worse, like bringing home a demon or something equally disturbing… but not all of us can date a Whitelighter." Prue let go of her sister and nodded to herself. "And it's not that I don't like him… there's just something about him that's…"

A gentle tingling sound signaled Leo's arrival.

"Hey."

"Leo!" Piper jumped up and gave him a quick kiss. "What's up?"

"Big news?" Prue asked and sighed when he nodded. "Go on, one demon crisis in the morning is just not enough."

"What did I miss?"

"Phoebe had a premonition about Belthazor killing Cole… and we think that he might be cursed or something."

"Belthazor?" Leo appeared confused.

"Cole!"

"Oh."

Phoebe huffed a laugh. "We were just getting to the point where we would decide what to do about Belthazor not killing my boyfriend. Or whatever he is at the moment."

"That probably won't be a problem anymore." Leo shifted his weight and refused to look at Phoebe. "The Underworld is, apparently, in an uproar. It seems that the Triad is furious because Belthazor has been eliminated during the night and nobody knows who is responsible. They're blaming you."

"And how do you know that?" Piper poured him a cup of coffee, too. "Since when we know what's going on in the Underworld?"

"Since every demon in San Francisco talks about it. It's bound to leak up there," said Leo, looking briefly to the ceiling. "Belthazor is… was… a bit of a celebrity. Perfect hit score. His death shook the Underworld. If something took him out, the Triad could be next."

Phoebe had been quiet as she absorbed the new information. "But I saw it. Belthazor buried a knife in Cole's back and set him aflame."

She just didn't understand it. Why have a vision about something that could not happen? Or was it too late? Had the demon already killed Cole before meeting his own end? She felt sick at that thought. "I'm going to call him."

Three pairs of eyes watched as she dialed Cole's number and waited for him to pick up, not breathing. With each second it kept ringing, Phoebe felt her heart picking up speed. Why didn't he answer?

"Hello?"

"Cole!" She jumped a little when she heard his voice – rough and tired but definitely his. "I'm so glad you picked up!"

"Phoebe? Why shouldn't I? Is something the matter?" He sounded more alert. She heard him clear his throat. "Are you ok?"

"What? Oh! Peachy! Everything's just peachy..."

"It's seven a.m. Is there a reason why are you calling me this early?" he asked, amused. "Or did you wish to hear my morning voice?"

"That's one way to put it," she sighed in relief. No demon could possibly imitate that tone of voice – or the thought process behind it. "But I actually wanted to reschedule."

"Oh." There was a moment of silence on the other end. "You can't make tonight?"

"I was thinking that we could do lunch... and I have a free afternoon, so perhaps we can spend it together... and then... go out for dinner..." as Phoebe was talking, she realized she would like that very much. A whole afternoon and evening spend with the man she lov-liked sounded like a wonderful idea. However, a guy like Cole who liked to keep his distance would certainly refuse.

Oh, she had fallen hard, hadn't she?

"But if you are busy, I definitely understand…" she babbled when he hadn't answered.

"Actually, I was checking my schedule. I could pick you up at 11 after your morning classes."

"My morning classes?"

"Yeah, it is Tuesday, isn't it?"

"Oh my God, my morning classes! Sure, eleven sounds great!" Phoebe had happily forgotten about that but Cole, apparently, had better grasp on her schedule than her.

Piper snorted in amusement and Prue shook her head. Leo gave Phoebe an amused wink. A moment later, she put down the phone and grinned.

"Well, whoever took care of Belthazor for us has my thanks. That was definitively Cole and he wants to see me! Yay!"

"Just try to be careful in case he's possessed or something, will you?" Prue sighed, eyes rolled toward the ceiling.

-.-.-

Cole was leaning against the hood of his car as he waited for his wife, dark lenses shading his eyes, arms folded across his chest. Without voices whispering at the edge of his mind constantly, he had slept soundly through the night for the first time in ages. He had almost forgotten how it felt to be so much in control of his actions – and with the clarity of mind had come the realization of _what_ exactly he had done.

The situation he had found himself in had the potential to backfire. _Badly_.

His wife had no idea that she was his wife. Remembering her reluctance to marry him in the first place, Cole doubted she would jump at the opportunity to be wedded to the person he had become.

Frankly, he was disturbed by his own actions and he doubted that Phoebe would be thrilled to be dating a monster that had been obsessing over her for the better part of two years. He had been stalking her, killing for her. He had traveled through time because her future self couldn't stand to look at him.

He just could see her reaction: her slamming a door in his face was the least of his worries. He should expect another unsuccessful attempt to vanquish him. What the hell had he been thinking?

Oh, right. He hadn't been thinking. He had been quite _mad_.

Cole wasn't sure he liked his new state of sanity. It made him painfully aware that he wasn't supposed to be in this timeline, this close to Phoebe. When she had called him, he had jumped at the opportunity to spend the day with her. One day, he had thought, just one day in her presence before he's going to lose her forever; before he's going to confess the truth about his powers and origins.


End file.
